Wind Power and the Emergence of the Beauce Landscape, Eure-et-Loir, France

In 2003 wind power arrived massively in the Beauce (on the outskirts of the Parisian basin). This article follows the evolving practice of landscape planning over the course of wind power development in this region of France. Our analysis suggests that landscape is regulated through practices, discourses and aesthetic codes, which define what is important about landscape and attempt to protect it. It shows that wind power not only affects existing landscapes, but also challenges the working of these underlying practices and discourses, triggering the emergence of new codes. By calling for a renewal in the way in which we regulate and experience our landscapes, wind power enables us better to understand the way in which the energy transition might raise issues about landscape protection.